CAMPUSRENOVATIONS

Antioch continues to work toward a sustainable educational environment that supports student learning and institutional growth. Here is a snapshot of our most recent campus renovation progress:

Central Geothermal Plant

The Central Geothermal Plant is now heating (and cooling) the Wellness Center, the Art & Science Building and the Foundry Theater. The new state-of-the-art system went through a rigid testing process in December and is working as designed.

Solar Farm

The new Solar Farm is up and running, providing power to campus, off-setting the electrical consumption of our Central Geothermal Plant for heat and air conditioning. It passed its last test for operation in December.

The Art & Science Building

Antioch College is well underway realizing its dream of true interdisciplinary study with the art and science departments now under one roof. As of January 6, students are studying together in the newly renovated Art & Science Building.

The $9.4 million overhaul of the building began in 2012. The second phase was completed on budget in December. Classroom space for the arts program was created—as well as drawing, sculpture and painting studios, a wood shop, a large lecture hall, media and recording classrooms and suites—and a physics and optics lab for the science program. Keeping with the College’s commitment to sustainability, the building is expected to achieve LEED certification.

Union Demolition

In December, the College applied for a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfield Cleanup Grant. If named a recipient, the College could be awarded up to $200,000 in funding toward the cost of abatement and demolition of the Union.

As part of the proposal, the College must demonstrate local support and engagement from the community. So far, the College has received letters of support from the Village of Yellow Springs; Yellow Springs Village Council; Greene County Combined Health District; and Greater Dayton Partners for the Environment. The College is working to receive backing from the Village Environmental Coalition and on a cost-share component with the village.

Grant recipients will be announced around fall 2015. Should the grant not be received, appropriate financial allocations will be made in order to move ahead with the abatement.

Activites are planned to memorialize the Union at Reunion in June 2015.

West & Weston Halls

This past October, Volunteer Work Project crews started renovations on West Hall, working to make the dorm’s lighting operational again, pulling carpeting and mending floors and prepping the entire second floor for the next stage of renovation. Additional repairs are needed in order to bring the residence hall up to Greene County and Yellow Springs Fire Department codes.

In addition to West Hall, plans have begun for Weston, providing a range of possibilities for much-needed gathering space. Those prospects include converting Weston into a new student space or adding a bookstore, mailroom, space for the Queer Center and offices for Community Life.

Andi Adkins, vice president of finance and operations, estimates the budget needed to make these renovations possible is $525,000 for each hall. After Antioch has identified funding, the plan will be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval. The goal is that the renovations can be finished in time for the arrival of the Class of 2020.

Foundry Theater

New risers were recently built and chairs have been added to increase seating capacity in the main theater.

Renovations to the Foundry Theater will occur in two phases with the first phase totaling $1.2 million. The phase one renovation is nearly complete and includes: a retrofitted heating and cooling system for connection to the College’s Central Geothermal Plant; new theatrical lighting board; new ADA-compliant restrooms; dressing rooms; new risers and chairs in the main theater; and more. A new roof—at an estimated cost of $200,000—will round out phase one of renovations. The College is currently seeking funding for this project.

Phase two of renovation is a long-range plan that will add a new exterior façade and outdoor patio space, increased capacity in the main theater from 225 to 350 patrons, and other improvements to the prop shop, dressing rooms and related spaces.

DEVELOPMENT

#GivingTuesday another great success thanks to donors

On Tuesday, December 2, Antioch College participated in its second-annual Giving Tuesday campaign, a national day of giving at the start of the holiday season designed to encourage charitable activities that support nonprofit organizations. This year’s campaign was another huge success for Antioch College, bringing in $26,921 from a total of 552 donors. With press coverage in the Dayton Daily News and Yellow Springs News, everyone’s efforts brought energy, excitement and attention to the College in very positive ways.

The winner of the $5,000 Giving Tuesday prize went to the C-Shop Revival student project.

This year’s Giving Tuesday competition was structured similarly to last year’s, with seven student organizations and departments submitting applications for projects as part of an online giving competition. Each group used a short video pitch to show connection to the Antioch College mission, vision and at least one institutional strategic goal.

The first place winner was the C-SHOP Revival, a student-led project to create a much-needed social space for community engagement, fostering dialogue about important social justice and community issues, while providing coffee and snacks for purchase to the greater community. The C-Shop Revival plans to use the $5,000 to jumpstart the creation of this student-run coffee shop by buying equipment and supplies, including an espresso machine.

The Coretta Scott King Center Resource Room project took second place, and third place went to the Speech & Debate Team’s Winning Victories Through Debate project.

The voting was close, particularly among the top three projects. Recognizing that support, the Office of the President added a $2,500 award to the second-place project and a $1,000 award for third place in addition to the $5,000 grand prize.

An incredibly generous donor within the Antioch community made it possible to also award a $1,000 prize for student participation, earned by the Defenestration Gallery project.

Newly renovated Foundry Theater hosts winter productions

With the Foundry Theater’s first phase of renovations nearly complete, Antioch College and the Yellow Springs community have a great shared space to utilize once again. This winter, the Foundry Theater hosted performances by the College and local community groups.

On November 7, 8, 14 and 15, the Yellow Springs Theatre Company (YSTC) performed their production of “Killers,” a play by local resident Thor Sage, in the Foundry’s newly remodeled experimental theater. “Killers” examined the issues of trust and faith in humanity, and was a poignant look at how we, as individuals, may lie even to ourselves.

On November 22 and 23, student Alexander Campbell ’16 produced and directed “All in the Timing,” an evening of one-act plays by playwright David Ives, titled “The Philadelphia,” “Words, Words, Words” and “Sure Thing.” “All in the Timing” was performed in the experimental theater and the cast included Megan Howes ’17, Jack Hassler ’17, Hannah Priscilla Craig ’17, Cole Gentry ’17, Malka Berro ’18 and David Schopmeyer ’16.

In December, Antioch College presented Caryl Churchill’s “Softcops.” The surreal, comedic and insightful play was directed by Louise Smith ’77, associate professor of performance. “Softcops” featured a montage of student-played characters and events from French history tracing the evolution of state control, from instruments of torture and the guillotine, to the panoptic city of Jeremy Bentham and our contemporary experience of surveillance.

“Softcops” featured original music and sound design by Seth Kaplan ’15 as well as additional music by Meredith Monk. The “Softcops” cast included Sean Allen ’17, Alli King ’18, Seth Kaplan ’15, Gaerin Warman-Szvoboda ’17, Cole Gentry ’17, Spencer Glazer ’17, Hannah Priscilla Craig ’17 and Alexander Campbell ’16, who also acted as stage manager. Amanda Egloff was technical director and Michael Casselli ’87 served as media designer.

In January, Jill Becker’s Improvisation in Art and Life class, the Global Seminar in Education class co-taught by Deanne Bell and Gabrielle Civil, and Civil’s Performance History and Critical Studies class also began in the theater. And on February 13 and 14, the Yellow Springs Community Dance Concert was held at the Foundry.

Renovations to the Foundry Theater have brought back a much-needed creative space that will continue to benefit both academic learning and performances at Antioch and in Yellow Springs.

VISUALARTS

All of the art featured in the most recent Herndon Gallery exhibition, “TAG! Territorial Negotiations,” was created by local artists within the Yellow Springs community, including Antioch students.

Herndon Gallery hosts new “TAG! Territorial Negotiations” exhibit

The Herndon Gallery at Antioch College hosted the “TAG! Territorial Negotiations” exhibit from December 11, 2014 through February 13, 2015.

“TAG! Territorial Negotiations” included work of more than 30 local street artists and explored the territorial claims and negotiations inherent in public art. The exhibition was curated by Raewyn Martyn, assistant professor of art; Andrew Thompson, visiting assistant professor of sculpture; and Jennifer Wenker, creative director of the Herndon Gallery.

The exhibition fostered conversations about overt and covert space claims, the give-and-take of community and individual and personal interests that each artist negotiates when making art in shared public spaces.

Murals, panel art, graffiti, yarn-bombing and street performers infuse the local community with layers of sensory experiences in our shared public spaces—some as gifts, others as claims. This timely exhibition offered opportunities for dialogue among diverse perspectives of the muddled and contentious relationships among public art, street art, graffiti and vandalism.